The scent of wine brought a flush to the old man from Xuancheng's nose, and even the hand holding the wine stopper trembled with excitement.
Mingzhi Tian raised the wine bowl in his hand, "Cheers."
The old man from Xuancheng eagerly replied, "Cheers!"
He first brought it to his nose to sniff, then felt refreshed and downed it in one gulp.
Mingzhi Tian also drank it down. The strong wine burned like fire within him, from his throat to his small intestine, and then to his large intestine, finally settling in his stomach like a blazing inferno that refused to be extinguished.
The surrounding people, drawn by the aroma of the wine, approached with mouths watering.
They gnawed on steamed buns filled with vegetables and meat, gazing up at Mingzhi Tian and the old man, longing for just a drop or two.
Mingzhi Tian took a bite of a meat bun. The meat was tender and fresh, the bun was soft, and the filling was abundant. It was half meat and half dough, and he ate with relish.
The two paid no mind to the gazes of those around them, continuing to eat meat buns and drink fine wine heartily. Life, even at its peak, was nothing more than this.
One passerby, unable to bear his thirst any longer, spoke up, "Sirs, sirs, could you let me have a sip? No, two sips, no, even half a sip would suffice, just to taste the freshness. May I?"
With one brave soul speaking up, the others were emboldened. The crowd surged forward, "I have money, I'll give it all to you, just let me have a sip of that fine wine."
"I want some too...! I want to drink...! Please grant me a sip of the fine wine!..."
Before Mingzhi Tian could respond, the old man from Xuancheng was unwilling to part with his precious wine, as he himself barely had enough to drink. "Go away, go away, what are you doing? You can look, but you can't drink!"
At this moment, the old man from Xuancheng was like a petulant old man, his earlier celestial grace and divine aura gone. Perhaps it was only in the presence of "fine wine" that he behaved this way.
Just then, three ruffians pushed their way through the crowd. The one in the lead was plump and grubby-faced, with a bamboo skewer in his mouth, a defiant look on his face, and an air of arrogance.
"Hey! You have good wine and didn't call Grandpa to join you? That's immoral!"
Mingzhi Tian glanced at him, "My wine has no portion for you. Do you even deserve it?"
The leader of the ruffians was enraged, "Hand it over!"
He lunged to snatch it. Mingzhi Tian pressed the old man from Xuancheng down, "Senior, these mere scoundrels are not worthy of your effort."
The old man from Xuancheng said, "Be careful not to spill the good wine."
Mingzhi Tian nodded, summoning five puppets from his storage bag, each at the first level of the Divine Might Realm.
Seeing this, the crowd scattered, "Run, run, it looks like there's going to be a fight."
Before the three ruffians could react, the five puppets backhanded them, leaving the three dazed!
The old man from Xuancheng's interest was piqued, "Oh? Are you a descendant of that old fossil Chang Jiang?"
Mingzhi Tian replied, "No."
He controlled the puppets with his left hand, drank wine with his right, and continued to chat with the old man from Xuancheng.
The three were beaten black and blue by the mechanical puppets and fled in disarray.
Witnessing this, no one dared to cause further trouble. But the fine wine was truly intoxicating, its aroma alone was delightful, and to have a sip would surely be a pleasure akin to that of an immortal.
The crowd mused, when soon the three ruffians, who had been beaten to a pulp, returned, this time with a large group, intending to exact revenge.
"Boss, it's this old guy and that brat who bullied us."
The villains were the first to complain. Mingzhi Tian chuckled. The one called boss, relying on his second level of the Divine Might Realm, acted even more arrogantly in front of his subordinates.